They are looked down upon by all around them, including the bun bakers. Their only seeming solace is the sixteen-year-old Tanya who visits them every morning for the kringles they give her.

    Some would say that any story of water is always a story of magic, and others would say any story of love was the same …’The River Wife is a simple and subtle story of love. The river wife—part human, part fish—has a duty to tend the river, but instead falls in love with a man. The age-old rhythms of her life irrevocably alter as he trespasses further and further into her heart at a time when she questions her birthright. Tender and stunningly beautiful, The River Wife speaks of desire and love, mothers and daughters, kinship and care, sacrifice and wisdom. It is completely captivating.

    In ‘Water’, a futuristic world is imagined and the fate of a people threatened. In ‘Light’, familial ties are challenged and characters are caught between a desire for freedom and a sense of belonging.Heat and Light presents an intriguing collection while heralding the arrival of an exciting new talent in Australian writing.